Space Cowboy wrote:
Locally it is easier for me to get good puerh than a Japanese
green. We have a well established Japanese community with
commercial enterprise. As I stated before you have to be in a
store when matcha arrives because it will unstock that
quickly. So my question for those who should know is there
any commercial shelf brand you would recommend as being much
better than average. I might be able to find it here but I
gave up because I was disappointed at what was available
commercially. AFAIK the really good stuff doesn't leave the
country. My local tea shoppe has a limited selection of
Japanese tea bancha,sencha,matcha but I don't think they are
benchmarks.

Commercial brand out of Japan? Instead of searching by brand,
it's probably easier to just search for price. You might as well
give up on penny/gram teas you're always so rapturously
discovering in groceries devoted to other lands. Just go into a
Japanese grocery and buy anything that's at least $10/100g. You
might get lucky.

--crymad

Space Cowboy wrote:
Locally it is easier for me to get good puerh than a Japanese
green. We have a well established Japanese community with
commercial enterprise. As I stated before you have to be in a
store when matcha arrives because it will unstock that
quickly. So my question for those who should know is there
any commercial shelf brand you would recommend as being much
better than average. I might be able to find it here but I
gave up because I was disappointed at what was available
commercially. AFAIK the really good stuff doesn't leave the
country. My local tea shoppe has a limited selection of
Japanese tea bancha,sencha,matcha but I don't think they are
benchmarks.

Commercial brand out of Japan? Instead of searching by brand,
it's probably easier to just search for price. You might as well
give up on penny/gram teas you're always so rapturously
discovering in groceries devoted to other lands. Just go into a
Japanese grocery and buy anything that's at least $10/100g. You
might get lucky.

--crymad

Lewis Perin wrote:

I do drink Japanese greens. Actually, I drink more young
Puerh than aged these days, if that makes you feel happy.

No. Sorry. Not happy. Still.

And speaking of making you feel happy: Thanks so much for
recommending haiga-mai. It's now the favorite rice in our
household.

Glad to be of service.

--crymad

Lewis Perin wrote:

I do drink Japanese greens. Actually, I drink more young
Puerh than aged these days, if that makes you feel happy.

No. Sorry. Not happy. Still.

And speaking of making you feel happy: Thanks so much for
recommending haiga-mai. It's now the favorite rice in our
household.

Glad to be of service.

--crymad

There's no such thing as a good penny/gram Japanese tea. Even that is
throwing away loose change. I'm paying the price break you suggested
and more. I'd still like one commercial recommendation regardless of
price. I suspect the good stuff isn't on the shelf at any price. I'd
just like to know if people in Japan are paying for quality at
specialty tea shoppes or whatever. It's no indictment of the Japanese
tea industry if those in the West have to travel East for a good
sencha.

Jim

crymad wrote:
Space Cowboy wrote:
Locally it is easier for me to get good puerh than a Japanese
green. We have a well established Japanese community with
commercial enterprise. As I stated before you have to be in a
store when matcha arrives because it will unstock that
quickly. So my question for those who should know is there
any commercial shelf brand you would recommend as being much
better than average. I might be able to find it here but I
gave up because I was disappointed at what was available
commercially. AFAIK the really good stuff doesn't leave the
country. My local tea shoppe has a limited selection of
Japanese tea bancha,sencha,matcha but I don't think they are
benchmarks.

Commercial brand out of Japan? Instead of searching by brand,
it's probably easier to just search for price. You might as well
give up on penny/gram teas you're always so rapturously
discovering in groceries devoted to other lands. Just go into a
Japanese grocery and buy anything that's at least $10/100g. You
might get lucky.

--crymad

There's no such thing as a good penny/gram Japanese tea. Even that is
throwing away loose change. I'm paying the price break you suggested
and more. I'd still like one commercial recommendation regardless of
price. I suspect the good stuff isn't on the shelf at any price. I'd
just like to know if people in Japan are paying for quality at
specialty tea shoppes or whatever. It's no indictment of the Japanese
tea industry if those in the West have to travel East for a good
sencha.

Jim

crymad wrote:
Space Cowboy wrote:
Locally it is easier for me to get good puerh than a Japanese
green. We have a well established Japanese community with
commercial enterprise. As I stated before you have to be in a
store when matcha arrives because it will unstock that
quickly. So my question for those who should know is there
any commercial shelf brand you would recommend as being much
better than average. I might be able to find it here but I
gave up because I was disappointed at what was available
commercially. AFAIK the really good stuff doesn't leave the
country. My local tea shoppe has a limited selection of
Japanese tea bancha,sencha,matcha but I don't think they are
benchmarks.

Commercial brand out of Japan? Instead of searching by brand,
it's probably easier to just search for price. You might as well
give up on penny/gram teas you're always so rapturously
discovering in groceries devoted to other lands. Just go into a
Japanese grocery and buy anything that's at least $10/100g. You
might get lucky.

--crymad

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 07:28:00 -0600, Derek wrote:

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 03:06:25 GMT, Falky foo wrote:

With cup clenched in hand
I pour the brownish fluid
Across my hot tongue

Mares have dropped their foals
The smell of hay and manure
The taste of puerh.


Man, I really am beginning to wonder exactly what brand and type of
pu'er you tried. Did you try brand new, un-aged stuff or what? Did
you try it several times or just once and hate it?


Mydnight

--------------------
thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 17:16:55 GMT, Mydnight wrote:

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 07:28:00 -0600, Derek wrote:

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 03:06:25 GMT, Falky foo wrote:

With cup clenched in hand
I pour the brownish fluid
Across my hot tongue

Mares have dropped their foals
The smell of hay and manure
The taste of puerh.


Man, I really am beginning to wonder exactly what brand and type of
pu'er you tried. Did you try brand new, un-aged stuff or what? Did
you try it several times or just once and hate it?

Some of it was loose. Some of it was pressed into birds nests.

I think the problem is that the aroma is simply too reminiscent of
something I hated. I don't think less of those who like it, but I
haven't been able to convince myself that it's good.

--
Derek

There is no greater joy than soaring high on the wings of your dreams,
except maybe the joy of watching a dreamer who has nowhere to land but
in the ocean of reality.

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 17:16:55 GMT, Mydnight wrote:

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 07:28:00 -0600, Derek wrote:

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 03:06:25 GMT, Falky foo wrote:

With cup clenched in hand
I pour the brownish fluid
Across my hot tongue

Mares have dropped their foals
The smell of hay and manure
The taste of puerh.


Man, I really am beginning to wonder exactly what brand and type of
pu'er you tried. Did you try brand new, un-aged stuff or what? Did
you try it several times or just once and hate it?

Some of it was loose. Some of it was pressed into birds nests.

I think the problem is that the aroma is simply too reminiscent of
something I hated. I don't think less of those who like it, but I
haven't been able to convince myself that it's good.

--
Derek

There is no greater joy than soaring high on the wings of your dreams,
except maybe the joy of watching a dreamer who has nowhere to land but
in the ocean of reality.

Space Cowboy wrote:
There's no such thing as a good penny/gram Japanese tea. Even
that is throwing away loose change. I'm paying the price
break you suggested and more. I'd still like one commercial
recommendation regardless of price.

Try some by Maeda-en. I've had some bought here in the US and it
was fine. The thing is, by commercial brand, the assumption is
recognizable, never-changing, iconic packaging. This sort of
thing isn't so common for Japanese teas.

I suspect the good stuff isn't on the shelf at any price. I'd
just like to know if people in Japan are paying for quality
at specialty tea shoppes or whatever. It's no indictment of
the Japanese tea industry if those in the West have to travel
East for a good sencha.

You can get good tea in Japan at practically any grocery store.

--crymad


Jim

crymad wrote:

Space Cowboy wrote:

Locally it is easier for me to get good puerh than a
Japanese green. We have a well established Japanese
community with commercial enterprise. As I stated before
you have to be in a store when matcha arrives because it
will unstock that quickly. So my question for those who
should know is there any commercial shelf brand you would
recommend as being much better than average. I might be
able to find it here but I gave up because I was
disappointed at what was available commercially. AFAIK
the really good stuff doesn't leave the country. My local
tea shoppe has a limited selection of Japanese tea
bancha,sencha,matcha but I don't think they are
benchmarks.

Commercial brand out of Japan? Instead of searching by
brand, it's probably easier to just search for price. You
might as well give up on penny/gram teas you're always so
rapturously discovering in groceries devoted to other lands.
Just go into a Japanese grocery and buy anything that's at
least $10/100g. You might get lucky.

--crymad

Space Cowboy wrote:
There's no such thing as a good penny/gram Japanese tea. Even
that is throwing away loose change. I'm paying the price
break you suggested and more. I'd still like one commercial
recommendation regardless of price.

Try some by Maeda-en. I've had some bought here in the US and it
was fine. The thing is, by commercial brand, the assumption is
recognizable, never-changing, iconic packaging. This sort of
thing isn't so common for Japanese teas.

I suspect the good stuff isn't on the shelf at any price. I'd
just like to know if people in Japan are paying for quality
at specialty tea shoppes or whatever. It's no indictment of
the Japanese tea industry if those in the West have to travel
East for a good sencha.

You can get good tea in Japan at practically any grocery store.

--crymad


Jim

crymad wrote:

Space Cowboy wrote:

Locally it is easier for me to get good puerh than a
Japanese green. We have a well established Japanese
community with commercial enterprise. As I stated before
you have to be in a store when matcha arrives because it
will unstock that quickly. So my question for those who
should know is there any commercial shelf brand you would
recommend as being much better than average. I might be
able to find it here but I gave up because I was
disappointed at what was available commercially. AFAIK
the really good stuff doesn't leave the country. My local
tea shoppe has a limited selection of Japanese tea
bancha,sencha,matcha but I don't think they are
benchmarks.

Commercial brand out of Japan? Instead of searching by
brand, it's probably easier to just search for price. You
might as well give up on penny/gram teas you're always so
rapturously discovering in groceries devoted to other lands.
Just go into a Japanese grocery and buy anything that's at
least $10/100g. You might get lucky.

--crymad

The name you mentioned isn't ringing a bell. I'll look for it. My
real quandry I can taste little difference between the expensive and
cheaf stuff on the shelves. I say that because I'm sure that the
selection I see is representative of what is available in Japan. How
do Japanese develop product loyalty if consistency in taste isn't a
given? I can understand it just doesn't work that way so what is my
consumer hook to keep buying from me? I don't think something like
'trust me' would sell in the West.

Jim

crymad wrote:
Space Cowboy wrote:
There's no such thing as a good penny/gram Japanese tea. Even
that is throwing away loose change. I'm paying the price
break you suggested and more. I'd still like one commercial
recommendation regardless of price.

Try some by Maeda-en. I've had some bought here in the US and it
was fine. The thing is, by commercial brand, the assumption is
recognizable, never-changing, iconic packaging. This sort of
thing isn't so common for Japanese teas.

I suspect the good stuff isn't on the shelf at any price. I'd
just like to know if people in Japan are paying for quality
at specialty tea shoppes or whatever. It's no indictment of
the Japanese tea industry if those in the West have to travel
East for a good sencha.

You can get good tea in Japan at practically any grocery store.

--crymad

Derek wrote:

Last night, as I was laying in bed trying to get to sleep, I realized
something. My friends and colleagues thing me somewhat of a tea
gourmet - or even a tea snob. But I don't think that's accurate.

I make almost all of my tea in either a single pot with an infuser or
in my Tea-one (A tall pitcher and top's got a filter basket. Push a
button and the tea drains out after steeping.) I never use two pots,
and I don't use different pots for different types of tea (although I
have thought about it).

I don't like puerh.

I don't measure out my tea by weight. I merely eyeball what I think is
the right amount on a teaspoon. And then I drink it out of a mug.

I don't like puerh.

I keep my teas stored in a drawer, in airtight plastic bottles because
its convenient. I know there are better methods, but I don't have the
gumption to switch. (At least I keep them "air tight" and "dark".)

I don't like puerh.

While I appreciate the intricacies of gungfu, I have no desire to
actually do it myself. Sure, it's a good cup of tea, but I don't think
its worth the effort. And for me to do it for the sake of doing it
would be pretentious. (I'm not saying that doing gungfu is
pretentious. I'm saying that it would be "for me" - it's a personal
thing.)

I don't like puerh.

I do appreciate good teas, however. And I know what "bad tea" is. I
was at a conference last week that had bagged tea at the snack table.
It wasn't too bad, but I missed my stash of teas at home. At the same
time, I often can't tell the difference between two grades of the same
tea - while I know others who can.

Did I mention that I don't like puerh?

And I have hardly any "tea memorabilia" around, except a few teacups I
bought when I was in Russia. Save for the absence of a coffee pot in
our house, no one would really know from visiting that I drink tea.

All of that has brought me to one rather startling conclusion. I am
not a tea gourmet (a connoisseur of tea). I am, in fact, simply a
gourmand (one who is heartily interested in good tea).

Maybe, one day, I'll move myself up the tea drinkers hierarchy. But in
the mean time, I'm just going to enjoy my tea.

The "gourmet" is dead. Long live the "gourmand"!



I'm sure this question has been answered many times but I'm to lazy to
google it. Whats "gungfu"?

Poe

I'm sure this question has been answered many times but I'm to lazy to
google it. Whats "gungfu"?


*clears his throat* Step in boys and girls if I miss anything. heh.

Gongfu cha is a tea preparation method involving the small pots (made
from a special clay material called yi xing) that you've undoubtedly
seen in most tea specialty shops. The material is very porous and is
said to soak up some of the flavor of the tea to improve the taste of
the tea the more you use it for that certain type of tea.

The other method of doing 'gongfu' cha (translates to what we would
colloquially know as 'kung-fu tea') is by using a gaiwan, which is a
small cup with a lid.

The reasons for using such utensils as the small pots and the small
cups is to try to have control factors such as the water temperature,
the tea amount, and the length of time each brewing steeps.

Before going into too much detail, check out my friend Kam's excellent
website that tells much about tea and the gongfu brewing method:

http://chineseteas101.com/

I hope I was able to answer some of your befuddlement. heh.

By the way, our understanding of the words Kung-Fu may provide a
misnomer in the understanding of why it's called gongfu cha. In
Chinese, gongfu (kung fu is the Cantonese, Gongfu is the mandarian) is
often attached to anything that someone shows high skill, profiency,
and control over. You don't actually throw any cups around or
anything that would resemble gongfu, although some shops in China
feature some interesting variants on how they serve the tea.


Mydnight

--------------------
thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

I'm sure this question has been answered many times but I'm to lazy to
google it. Whats "gungfu"?


*clears his throat* Step in boys and girls if I miss anything. heh.

Gongfu cha is a tea preparation method involving the small pots (made
from a special clay material called yi xing) that you've undoubtedly
seen in most tea specialty shops. The material is very porous and is
said to soak up some of the flavor of the tea to improve the taste of
the tea the more you use it for that certain type of tea.

The other method of doing 'gongfu' cha (translates to what we would
colloquially know as 'kung-fu tea') is by using a gaiwan, which is a
small cup with a lid.

The reasons for using such utensils as the small pots and the small
cups is to try to have control factors such as the water temperature,
the tea amount, and the length of time each brewing steeps.

Before going into too much detail, check out my friend Kam's excellent
website that tells much about tea and the gongfu brewing method:

http://chineseteas101.com/

I hope I was able to answer some of your befuddlement. heh.

By the way, our understanding of the words Kung-Fu may provide a
misnomer in the understanding of why it's called gongfu cha. In
Chinese, gongfu (kung fu is the Cantonese, Gongfu is the mandarian) is
often attached to anything that someone shows high skill, profiency,
and control over. You don't actually throw any cups around or
anything that would resemble gongfu, although some shops in China
feature some interesting variants on how they serve the tea.


Mydnight

--------------------
thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.